High school boys basketball: Stansbury Stallions use big second half to beat Tooele 67-55

By CJ Pronk
For the Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, Jan. 2 2013 10:35 p.m. MST

TOOELE — The Stansbury Stallions and the Tooele Buffaloes met Wednesday in a game that both teams really needed. Each team was struggling and needed a win to get their respective seasons back on track. At halftime, Tooele appeared to be the team that would get a much-needed victory, as the Buffaloes possessed a nine-point lead.

But Stone Tia and Ryan Robbins had something to say about that.

The duo combined for 35 points, 25 of them in the second half, as Stansbury pulled away and beat its rival 67-55. Niko Chacon added 14 more for the Stallions, including three shots from long distance, while Justin Pollmann led all scorers with 20 for the Buffaloes.

"We weren't playing with our hearts there in the first half," said Robbins. "We decided at halftime that we didn't want to lose again, and really picked it up in the second half."

Pollmann got off to an early start, scoring nine of his 20 points in the first quarter and helping Tooele get off to a 15-10 lead. Pollmann didn't score in the second quarter, but the Buffaloes led 29-20 at intermission.

With their backs against the wall heading into the second half, the Stallions really stepped it up on both sides of the ball. They got key loose balls and rebounds from Tanner Barton, and everybody seemed to step up their intensity. They took a 50-47 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back.

"We really picked it up defensively," said Tia. "We were able to get some key stops down the stretch, and get some good shots on offense."

It's just the third win in the last 11 tries for the Stallions, and the 11th loss of Tooele's season. The Stallions move to 5-8 and will host Ogden on Friday, while the Buffaloes move to 2-11 and will travel to Morgan to face the 9-2 Trojans on Friday.

CJ Pronk is a Deseret Digital Media intern and a senior at Stansbury High School. Follow CJ on Twitter @BigCeeJ3113